Chapter 16: Elizabeth Lightcross
Chapter 16: Elizabeth Lightcross
The carriage swayed gently as it moved down the road, the rhythmic clatter of hooves against stone filling the silence between Emily and Sophie. They were on their way back to the capital.
Both were lost in their own thoughts, their time in the Weaverheart territory having turned out...unexpected, to say the least.
They had encountered a dangerous man. A man who played them effortlessly and took exactly what he wanted from them.
'He blackmailed me... with a secret no one should ever know.'
Emily's fingers curled against her lap as she replayed it all.
'Then he took my daughter. And after that, he had the audacity to come back—to make amends. By that point, antagonizing him would have been foolish. He has the wit, the courage, the talent, and the backing. Standing against him would have been suicide.'
'So I compromised. I gave him two terms—two of my deepest, most desperate desires. The death of my family—the ones who sold me to the Empire, who tore me from the love of my life. And the death of the Emperor himself. I opened myself up to him... because I knew. He is the only one ruthless enough, driven enough, to do it.'
And she had been right.
A slow smile crept onto her lips. Relief flooded through her veins. She had secured an ally.
No, not just an ally. A weapon.